San Francisco 49ers

Colin Kaepernick sends family to punt, pass and kick finals

Published Jan. 2, 2016 4:53 p.m. ET

foxsports

Colin Kaepernick did something pretty awesome for a local family.

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback helped send the family of a young girl from Turlock, Calif., to Indianapolis this weekend so they could watch her compete in the finals of the 11-year-old division for the NFL’s annual punt, pass and kick competition.

The NFL organizes the punt, pass and kick finals by having one athlete per age group represent an NFL team. The 49ers' representative for one age group is 11-year-old Mya Sanchez of Turlock, who won the local and sectional competitions. The league flies out each participant plus a parent to the competition, but Kaepernick stepped in to fly out her other parent and both of her brothers.

As the Sacramento Bee explains, Kaepernick’s relationship with the Sanchez family goes back to when Mya was born. She was born at a Modesto hospital where Kaepernick’s mother worked as a nurse. Kaepernick’s mother and Phil bonded over high school football, as Colin played quarterback for Pitman High School in Turlock.

Eleven years later, Mya is following in Colin’s footsteps as a strong-armed thrower, and the 49er is doing his part to help out her family. Maybe someone should send this story to the reporter who ripped the quarterback for being rude.

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